Draft-equalizer.



v Patented July12,1910

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. SGHOENEGKER. DRAFT EQUALIZER APPLICATION FILED-DEC. 17, 1909.

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DRAFT BQUALI ZE R. APPLICATION FILED DHO.17, 1909.

Patented July 12, 1910.

WILLIAM SCI-IOENECKER, OF KENMARE, NORTH DAKOTA.

DRAFT-EQUALIZER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 12, 1910.

Application filed December 17, 1909. Serial No. 533,690.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM Sci-101m- ECKER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Kenmare, in the county of lVard and State of NorthDakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDraft-Equalizers, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in draftequalizers and more particularly to a device of this character which isespecially adapted for equalizing the draft upon plow teams, and toefficiently equalize the draft of the team where four or more draftanimals are used.

Another ob ect is to provide a very simple draft equalizer which ishighly efficient in its operation and may be produced at a minimumexpenditure.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists of thenovel features of construction and the combination and arrangement ofparts hereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a draftequalizer constructed in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2is a front elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a side elevation; Fig. 4: is adetail perspective View of the main draft bar; and Fig. 5 is an enlargeddetail section of the equalizing device.

Referring to the drawings 5 indicates the tongue of a plow or othervehicle to which is attached my improved draft equalizer. The equalizercomprises the main draft bar 6 which is pivotally mounted upon the endof the vehicle beam by means of the clevis 7 To the inner end of the bar6 a metallic U- shaped bar or yoke 8 is secured. This U- shaped barextends beyond the end of the bar 6, the transverse connecting portion 8thereof being disposed in parallel relation and spaced from the end ofthe draft bar. Within the space thus provided and secured at its ends tothe opposite sides of the bar 8 is a transverse connecting member 9.This member is provided with a central opening in which the reducedshank 10 of an eye bolt 11 is loosely mounted. Through the extremity ofthis shank the cotter pin 12 is disposed and securely retains the eyebolt in the frame bar 8. The transverse connecting portion 8 of theframe bar is also provided with a central opening 13 through which theeye bolt 11 is disposed and has free rotative movement.

The outer end of the bolt is formed with the eye 1d. Through this eyethe rod or standard 15 is loosely disposed and is retained therein bymeans of the collars or flanges 16 which are carried by the rod 15 andare disposed against the opposite faces of the eye let of the bolt 11.These collars are held in position upon the bolt by means of suitableset screws which extend therethrough and bind upon the same. To theupper end of the rod 15 a U-shaped yoke or clevis 17 is attached andembraces the doubletree bar 18, the whiffletrees 19 being secured toeach end thereof. To the lower end of the rod or standard 15 one end ofthe rod 20 is attached and extends forwardly in advance of the rear teamof draft animals. A second doubletree 21 is secured to the forward endof this rod and carries the whiffletrees 22 to which the draft animalsare attached. Thus the rear team may be first arranged upon oppositesides of the forwardly extending rod 20 and properly attached to thewhiffietrees 19 and the advance or lead team then attached to theforward whiftletrees 22. Upon the other end of the draft bar 6 aswingletree 23 is attached by means of the clevis 2a. To thisswingle-tree a single animal is attached and in the operation of thedevice this arrangement of the animals will effectively equalize thework or strain upon each of them and their full pulling power will beattained without placing upon them undue strain. In case it is desiredto attach two additional draft animals by the side of the rear team,this may be done by attaching a double tree to the clevis 24:, saiddouble tree carrying a swingle tree at each end thereof similar to theswingle-trees 19. The attachment of the draft bar 6 to the end of thebeam 5 will of course be adjusted by moving the same to the left, andattaching the clevis 7 thereto at a point nearer to the opposite end ofthe bar 6 than that shown in Fig. 1, so that the draft upon the animalswill thereby be equalized. If four animals are desired in both front andrear, the arrangement of the frame 8 and eye bolt 11 together with thefront and rear double trees and swingle trees is duplicated upon theopposite end of the draft bar, and the attaching clevis moved to thecenter of the beam.

By the arrangement above described it will be obvious that the horses orother animals are much closer to the load being drawn than in devices ofa similar character as heretofore constructed. There are no loose partswhich will interfere with the proper operation of the device, and it isimpossible for one of the horses to obtain any advantage over theothers. It is possible, however, by simple adjustment of the parts togive to one or more of the animals a certain advantage in draft over theothers in accordance with the difference in the pulling powers of theanimals.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a draftequalizing attachment. which is especially adapted for heavy work suchas plowing and other field work and one which will be very efficient inoperation and may be constructed at a very low cost.

While I have shown and described what I believe to be the preferredembodiment of the invention, it will be understood that numerous minormodifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described the invention What is claimed is:

A draft equalizer comprising a frame adapted to be attached to one endof a draft bar, an eye bolt rotatably mounted and longitudinallypositioned in said frame with relation to the draft bar, a rotatable roddisposed in the eye of said bolt, adjustable collars on said roddisposed on opposite sides of the eye and adapted to prevent verticalmovement of the rod, a doubletree secured to the upper end of said rod,a.swingletree secured to the opposite end of the draft bar, a doubletreedisposed in advance of the draft bar, and a single rigid connectionbetween said doubletree and the lower end of the rotatable rod, said eyebolt providing a central pivot for said rod, whereby the same mayoscillate, and also permitting of its free rotation, whereby thedoubletrees may move in a horizontal plane.

In testimony whereof I hereunto ailix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

WILLIAM SCI-IGENE OKER.

WVitnesses:

PERCY M. CLARK, J. GWVEBSTER.

